Due to security threats, rights groups have made the decision to cancel a Southeast Asian LGBTQ event in Indonesia, according to the organizers. This development highlights the growing pressure faced by the LGBT community in the country from religious conservatives. While homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia, except in Aceh province where Sharia law is enforced, it remains a sensitive and taboo topic in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.
Other LGBT-related events have previously been canceled in Indonesia due to objections from Islamic groups. In a similar instance, the United States called off a visit by its LGBT special envoy in December after facing criticism from an influential clerical body.
